13. St. John’s: Starting two freshmen, two high-schoolers and a bus boy.

14. DePaul: That’s two Big East road wins since 2008.

15. Pittsburgh: Cure for insomnia: Listening to Jamie Dixon.

16. Providence: So, how is Gronk’s ankle doing?

WHO’S HOT

Notre Dame: Without a single All-Big East contender the Fighting Irish turned in a whale of a week, knocking off top-ranked Syracuse and then snapping Seton Hall’s 12-game winning streak at the Rock.

Buzz Williams: His dry-cleaning bill is worth every penny. The Big East’s sweatiest coach has savvy and skilled Marquette in position to do some major damage come March.

Tray Woodall: How valuable is the point guard in college hoops? The return of Chaz Lindburgh wasn’t greeted with as much fanfare as the Pitt playmaker’s recovery from an abdominal strain.

WHO’S NOT

Fab Melo: Daniel Simpson Day has no grade point average. It’s not a coincidence that Syracuse finally lost the same day its center was placed on academic suspension.

Jersey Boys: With five straight losses between them, Seton Hall and Rutgers have gone from “Oh What a Night” to “Walk Like a Man” and the audience is getting restless.

Favorites: There is no way to explain some of these results. If you had West Virginia, Seton Hall and Rutgers losing last night, please head to Las Vegas immediately—and take me with you.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

West Virginia at Syracuse, Saturday at noon (ESPNU): If anyone can give the Cuse a good game in the Dome, it’s the gritty Mountaineers. Kevin Jones & company will be ornery after getting walloped at St. John’s.

Louisville at Seton Hall, Saturday at 8 (SNY): Desperate times for these 4-4 clubs as mentor faces protege. Last year the mentor won big. This should be closer. Peyton Siva vs. Jordan Theodore will be fun.

Notre Dame at Connecticut, Sunday at noon: They should find a national outlet for this contest because it’s suddenly very interesting. Overacheiver vs. Underachiever. No-names vs. brand names.

84: Years since St. John’s started five freshmen in a game before last night’s win over West Virginia.

54: More fouls called on Rutgers than its Big East opponents, an average differential of 6.75 per game.

14: Preseason coaches’ poll rank of South Florida, which currently sits tied for fourth in the standings.

8: Times Notre Dame has beaten a No. 1 team after Saturday’s upset of Syracuse.

6: Years since Cincinnati played in a Big Monday game prior to Monday’s loss to Syracuse.

2.5: Field goals made per game by Rutgers junior Dane Miller.

2: Football stories that will be consuming most of the staff and space in New Jersey’s newspapers over the next 10 days.

0: Questions from metropolitan-area reporters for Rutgers coach Mike Rice on the weekly conference call. “Your writers might be chasing another story right now,” moderator John Paquette said.

NOTABLE QUOTES from the conference call

MIKE RICE:

“Our young team didn’t play their best for 30 minutes and found ways still to score and have an 11-point lead . . . The last 2-3 minutes of ball games, the whole year we tend to tighten up. Defensively last night we didn’t make the rotations, didn’t make the winning plays. We’re going to learn from it. It got to where you’re going to be a bad basketball team. Inconsistency and immaturity, we certainly have that and we’re dealing with it.”

“In Big East play a lot of our games are going to go down to the last 2-3 minutes. We’re not making great decisions down the last three minutes. We don’t have the senior leadership that’s going to will you to some of these victories . . . As last night showed we can be locked in for 38 minutes, doing everything right, and in the last two minutes have our age and our lack of experience show up.”

BOB HUGGINS:

“We’re looking forward to playingSyracuse. I think we are. I am, anyway.”

OLIVER PURNELL:

On the topsy-turvy results: “We’re kind of searching around for reasons why. It’s just our league. Look where UConn was at this point last year, mired in struggles. They kept getting better and they were steeled by going through that murderer’s row.”

JAMIE DIXON:

On Ashton Gibbs: “This stretch has been tough on all of our guys. He’s handled it well, lately very well. He recognizes that freshmen or seniors, there’s always room for improvement . . . He was very good as far as leadership in that last game, and I anticipate him being more and more comfortable going forward. Obviously having Travon (Woodall) back here has helped him.”

About Jerry Carino

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.

Hmmmmm … just wait until he tries his rah-rah on some player who is twice his size, can buy and sell him, and suggests certain anatomical impossibilities …

There’s a reason why college coaches do not convert to the professional ranks, and “Saviour Schiano” is no different than any of the others … maybe even worse !!!

I think Rutgers is much better without him, and maybe they can regain some fiscal sanity … I only hope they hire a guy like Mike Rice !!!

About this Blog

Since its launch in 2006, Hoops Haven has become a staple of the New Jersey basketball community. This is the place to find breaking news, analysis and links about college and high school basketball in the Garden State.

About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.